Morning rush-hour traffic was expected to be messy and some schools may have canceled classes for today if projections of a winter storm dumping close to a half foot of snow on the region hold up.

The snowfall was expected to begin late Thursday and intensify after midnight, according to the National Weather Service.

After a winter weather advisory was issued Thursday, some Macomb County communities including Mount Clemens and Warren got a head start by declaring snow emergencies effective Thursday night. The move was aimed at getting cars off residential streets to give snowplows ample room to clear the roads.

Warren Mayor James Fouts ordered a snow alert that called for vehicles to be off side streets by 9 p.m. Thursday.

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“I’ve asked our (public works) people to be a little more aggressive in removing the snow than they were in the past. The last big snowfall we had a little difficulty because we didn’t start the snow emergency soon enough,” Fouts said.

In Mount Clemens, Public Services Director Jeffrey Woods said the snow emergency was implemented at 7 p.m. Thursday and would be in effect until further notice.

Likewise, the Macomb County Department of Roads worked to get a jump on the snow storm by prepping streets that fall under the county’s jurisdiction.

“Many of our crews are out right now doing anti-icing,” roads director Bob Hoepfner said in a news release on Thursday afternoon. “We’re spraying many of the roads, the overpasses, the bridges and ramps with a brine solution. And why we’re doing that is so we don’t have the ice actually build up on the roadways.”

Hoepfner said salt supplies have been sufficient for the 1,800 miles of roadway Macomb County maintains. The roads department has a complement of 80 salt trucks equipped with underbody plows, 14 wing plows and 13 salt spreader combination units ready for the winter war.

Motorists should never pass a moving snowplow on the right because snow being thrown to the side can prevent drivers from seeing the plow blade and cause serious accidents, Hoepfner added.

The winter weather advisory issued by the weather service was expected to expire at noon Friday.

Total snowfall accumulations of 4 to 7 inches were expected, with higher amounts projected for the Thumb and Saginaw areas. In addition to snow, sleet and freezing rain were expected to be part of the mix, which could cause slippery road conditions.

Area school transportation directors were expected to observe weather conditions in the early-morning hours and determine whether to cancel classes for the day.

Friday’s forecast calls for blustery conditions with snow ending around 1 p.m. and a high of 30 degrees. Winds will be out of the north at 16 mph, gusting to 30 mph. The overnight low will be around 12.

Mostly sunny conditions will exist for Saturday with a high of 26 and calm winds. Sunday’s high should be 34, but rain will move in overnight. Monday’s high will be in the lower 40s.